Ukiah sports facilities still drying out after flooding

This weekend, the Rusty Bowl BMX facility had hoped to host its first race since the flooding in December that eroded its track and destroyed much of its equipment.

Theresa Pickrell, treasurer of the nonprofit's board of directors, said Wednesday afternoon that riders would be practicing that evening, and this year's first race was scheduled for Friday.

"It is still really soft and wet," Pickrell said of the track. "We're hoping that kids with bicycles on it will help dry it up."

However, by the time people began showing up at 5 p.m., it was clear that the track was just too soft still.

Board member Scott Johnson said there likely wouldn't be races again until the track can be rebuilt in the spring.

"I don't know," Pickrell said. "Maybe February will be real dry."

Pickrell said the track was rebuilt in June of last year, and while it needed water, "it didn't need five feet of water," referring to the amount of standing water that collected after the nearby Russian River overflowed its banks Dec. 2, flooding the track and the nearby fields used by the Ukiah Youth Baseball League.

With all the water in the snack shack and outbuildings, Pickrell said the facility "lost everything: refrigerator, microwave, and printer as well as helmets, chest protectors, trophies, ribbons and signs."

Since then, she said people have donated used appliances, and she was able to wash many helmets, chest protectors and trophies. However, all that work meant other projects planned for the winter were put on hold.

"We had just purchased brand-new lights," she said. "But we haven't gotten them up yet."

And though the snack shack has a working microwave and refrigerator again, she said only water was going to be served this weekend.

"We didn't want to stock our snack shack in case we get a lot of rain," she said.

Since so much of the BMX track was eroded away after the flooding, "we are going to rebuild our track again in March or April, weather-permitting," Pickrell said. To help raise funds, Pickrell said USA BMX donated a GHP Junior BMX bike that the Rusty Bowl is holding a drawing for. The tickets are $5 each, and only 200 tickets will be sold.

"We still need help," she said, explaining that the facility can be contacted via its Facebook page or by calling 462-0249.

Katie Marsolan, the city's Community Services Administrator, said the city partnered with the organizations running the BMX track and baseball league when it came to replacing the fencing and bringing in a pump to help clean out the water, but overall "their groups have done a really good job of ownership with their areas, and they have a good workforce of volunteers."

Marsolan said the city's new Riverside Park, which is even closer to the river than the BMX or baseball facilities, was affected by the flooding, but fared well.

"The newer construction of the trails and riverfront improvements were designed to accommodate high-water events," she said, adding that the materials selected and the way they were installed helped the park handle the flooding.

Justine Frederiksen can be reached at udjjf@ukiahdj.com, on Twitter @JustFrederiksen or at 468-3521.